Ford Recalls 777,241 Trucks and SUVs That May Roll Away or Shed Parts

A restriction inside an automatic transmission can briefly engage a parking component while the vehicle is moving. That unintended contact may damage the mechanism meant to hold the vehicle after the driver selects park, leaving the parking brake as the remaining restraint against a rollaway.

Ford is recalling 741,195 Ford and Lincoln trucks and SUVs over that transmission defect. In a separate campaign, it is recalling 36,046 Ford Broncos because manufacturing defects around their fender attachment holes may allow exterior fender flares to detach. Together, the two recalls cover 777,241 vehicles, but they involve different failure mechanisms and require different repairs.

Transmission damage can undermine park holding

The larger recall covers the 2021 Ford F-150; 2020-2021 Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator; and 2018-2021 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator.

In these vehicles, a separator plate in the transmission valve body may restrict hydraulic flow to the park valve when the control system commands certain shifts. The reduced flow can cause the parking pawl the mechanical part that locks the transmission when park is selected to engage temporarily while the vehicle is still moving.

Contact under those conditions may damage the transmission’s parking components. A damaged mechanism may subsequently fail to hold the vehicle stationary even though the driver has selected park. Without the parking brake applied, the vehicle could roll away.

This sequence makes the defect a combined hydraulic, mechanical and control-system problem. Ford’s planned remedy addresses both the command that initiates the condition and any physical damage that may already have occurred. Dealers will install updated powertrain control module software designed to prevent the transmission from commanding the implicated shifts. They will also inspect the transmission and replace damaged parking components when necessary.

Ford has identified 24 property-damage reports, seven reports of physical injuries and two reports of emotional injuries potentially related to the transmission issue. These are reported associations rather than confirmed outcomes for every recalled vehicle.

Interim owner letters for the transmission campaign were expected to begin mailing August 3, 2026, while the complete remedy is expected to become available in April 2027. Until repairs are completed, the defect’s practical consequence is straightforward: selecting park may not provide the expected mechanical holding force after damage has developed, making use of the parking brake particularly important.

Federal vehicle rules have long treated secure park engagement as a safety function. The applicable framework requires a vehicle’s transmission or shift mechanism to be locked in park under defined conditions and limits permitted movement during compliance testing. That regulatory history reflects the central human-factors expectation involved here: the gear indication and the vehicle’s physical state should agree.

Bronco recall starts with malformed attachment holes

The second recall covers 36,046 Ford Broncos from model years 2022 through 2026. It is unrelated to the transmission campaign and begins with a supplier manufacturing problem rather than a vehicle control command.

According to the recall documentation, improperly maintained supplier tooling produced fender attachment holes that could be incorrectly sized and contain burrs or stray fibers. Those imperfections may interfere with complete engagement of the clips securing the fender flares.

Owners may see gaps, sagging or misalignment around a flare. Rattling, clicking or flapping can also indicate that its clips are losing retention. If retention is lost completely, the flare may separate from the Bronco.

Ford reports 370 warranty claims, 36 field reports and two customer reports related to the Bronco condition. The repair does not require the software-and-inspection approach used for the transmission campaign. Dealers will instead install improved push-pin fasteners and replace any fender flares that are already missing.

The two campaigns illustrate why a combined recall total can obscure the work required at the service level. One remedy must prevent a damaging transmission command and determine whether internal components need replacement. The other corrects a physical attachment problem created during fender manufacturing. For affected owners, confirming the specific vehicle and campaign is therefore essential: the 777,241-vehicle total represents two defects, two sets of warning signs and two distinct repair paths.

By Thomas Caldwell — AMI’s senior editor for mechanical and mobility engineering, covering vehicle electronics, systems integration, electrification, chassis systems, propulsion, and safety policy.